Guidelines for Diabetes Care during sickness

Diabetes - when you are sick

Waiting too long to get medical care when you are sick can lead to getting much sicker. When you have diabetes, a delay in getting care can be life threatening. Even a minor cold can make your diabetes harder to control. Uncontrolled diabetes can lead to more serious health problems.

When you are sick, keep a close watch on diabetes warning signs. These are:

High blood sugar that will not come down with treatment

Nausea

Vomiting

Low blood sugar that will not rise after you eat

If you have any of these warning signs and cannot treat them yourself, call your doctor right away.

Sick Day Plan

Check your blood sugar more often than usual (every 2 - 4 hours). Try to keep your blood sugar at less than 200 mg/dL. There may be times when you need to check your blood sugar every hour. Write down all your blood sugar levels, the time of each test, and the medicines you have taken.

If you have type 1 diabetes, check your urine ketones (use Ketostix-foil wrapped strips) every time you urinate.

Eat small meals often. Even if you are not eating as much, your blood sugar can still get very high. If you use insulin, you may even need extra insulin injections.

Do NOT do vigorous exercise when you are sick.

If you take insulin, you should also have a glucagon emergency treatment kit prescribed by your doctor. Always have this kit available.

If your blood sugar is less than 100 mg/dL) or falling quickly, it is OK to drink fluids that have sugar in them. Try to check their effect on your blood sugar, the same way you check how other foods affect your blood sugar.

Fluids you can drink if your blood sugar is low:

Apple juice

Orange juice

Grapefruit juice

Gatorade or other sports drink

Tea with honey

Lemon-lime drinks

Ginger ale

If you throw up, do not drink or eat anything for 1 hour. Rest, but do not lie flat. After 1 hour, take sips of soda every 10 minutes.

Eating When You Are Sick

When your stomach is upset, try to eat small meals. Try carbohydrates, such as:

Bagels or bread

Cooked cereal

Mashed potatoes

Noodle or rice soup

Saltines

Gelatin (such as Jell-O)

Graham crackers

Many foods have the right amount of carbohydrates (about 15 grams) for your sick-day diet. Remember, on sick days it is OK to eat some foods you might not normally eat, if you cannot eat your regular foods. Some foods to try are:

½ cup apple juice

½ cup regular soft drink (non-diet, caffeine-free)

1 Popsicle (1 stick)

5 Lifesavers candies

1 slice of dry toast

½ cup cooked cereal

6 saltine crackers

½ cup frozen yogurt

1 cup Gatorade or sports drink

½ cup regular ice cream (if you are not throwing up)

¼ cup sherbet

¼ cup regular pudding (if you are not throwing up)

½ cup regular gelatin/Jell-O

1 cup yogurt (not frozen), sugar-free or plain

Milkshake made with ½ cup low-fat milk and ¼ cup ice cream mixed in a blender (if you are not throwing up)

When you are sick, you should try to eat the same amount of carbohydrates that you normally do. If possible, follow your regular diet. If you are having a hard time swallowing, eat soft foods.

If you have already taken your insulin and are sick to your stomach, drink enough liquids with the same amount of carbohydrates that you would normally eat. If you cannot keep food or liquids down, go to the emergency room for treatment. You will receive fluids through a tube in your blood vessel (intravenous).

If you have a cold, talk with your doctor, diabetes nurse.

Diabetes Drugs

Most of the time, you should take all of your medicines as you usually do. Do not skip or double up on any medicine unless your doctor tells you to.

If you cannot eat your normal amount of carbohydrates, you may need to make a change in your insulin dose or in the dose of your diabetes pills or other injections.

When to Call the Doctor

Call your doctor if you have:

Blood sugars higher than 240 mg/dL for more than 1 day

Moderate-to-large ketones for 2 or more tests

Vomiting or diarrhea for more than 4 hours

Any severe pain

A fever higher than 100 °F

Trouble moving your arms or legs

Vision, speech, or balance problems

If your doctor does not call back right away, you may need to go to the emergency room. This is especially important if you are vomiting or have diarrhea for more than 4 hours.

We believe that every living being has inherent right to access nutritious food to live a healthy live. Unfortunately in the world of plenty, nearly 1.1 billion people across the world and 230 million people in India does not get sufficient food and suffer from Hunger. We feel shame for such prevailing condition specially when the technology has so advanced. Understanding our social responsibility to eliminate hunger, we contribute 5% of the company's annual revenue to "Akshaya Patra Foundation" a foundation who provides free and nutritive meals with education to less privilege children's.